Keto Diet

[Lisa246]

Hi,

I was just wondering how to start going on a keto diet as I am really worried about it but at the same time I need to change my diet. I would say I eat about 150g of carbs a day and only rye sourdough and oats as that is all I can tolerate in terms of carbs. I eat the same things every day apart from variations in veg.
I can only tolerate blueberries now, so I east almost no fruit and the rest of my diet is high protein and fats.

Anyway was just wanting some help with this and any suggestions.

Thanks Lisa

 

[lovinglife]

A very good site that explains keto way of eating and has some great recipes & meal plans is DietDoctor- just google DietDoctor and it should be easy to find.

I do keto so eat less than 20g carb a day so that means no bread, pasta, rice potatoes, flour products etc. I base my diet around nice fatty meats, bacon, good high meat content sausages eggs, oily fish & white fish, cheese, full fat Greek yogurt, avocado, a little bit of cream, butter, good oils like a good extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, herbs & spices, above ground veg, no below ground veg apart from celeriac & swede or turnip. A few berries, a few nuts, 85% chocolate or above, a couple of squares

 

[Lamont D]

Hi,

I was just wondering how to start going on a keto diet as I am really worried about it but at the same time I need to change my diet. I would say I eat about 150g of carbs a day and only rye sourdough and oats as that is all I can tolerate in terms of carbs. I eat the same things every day apart from variations in veg.
I can only tolerate blueberries now, so I east almost no fruit and the rest of my diet is high protein and fats.

Anyway was just wanting some help with this and any suggestions.

Thanks Lisa

Hi Lisa (again)
I won't repeat myself after answering on another thread.
Dietdoctor.com is a great resource.
And you should process what is suitable for you.

I have noticed that you are on metformin.
I was told from my endocrinologist to stop. Because it reduces the amount of glucagon the liver can create when your blood glucose levels are going low.
Metformin can also create issues with digestion.
Do you have an endocrinologist?

Best wishes.

(mod edit to remove forum rule breach re medical advice)

 

[KennyA]

I have been on approx 20g carb/day for five years now. It's been excellent for my BG control and I have not had a reading out of normal range in that time. I've lost all the weight I gained when I became diabetic around 2009. I try not to eat any of the carb-heavy items already listed, and my carb, such as it is, comes mainly from green veg. I don't carb-count as such: I just never eat any amount of a carby food.

Testing before eating and at +2hrs has been an essential part of that regime. It confirmed early on that meals with carb were the main culprit in elevated BGs, but also identified that I can generally tolerate legumes, although on paper they are carb-heavy. Also that sugar isn't that big an issue for me, but pastry is right out.

I'd suggest that you start by reducing the bread and oats - both carb heavy items eaten in substantial quantity.

 

[Lisa246]

Hi,

Thanks for all your suggestions and I will definitely give it a go. I guess due to all the anxiety I feel about my RH, change it is always a hard thing to do. I have been watching a lot of YouTube stuff about Keto diets but they always talk about diabetes and the effects, never about RH. That is why I thought to come here and see how everyone was getting on.

Next time I speak to my endocrinologist I will ask about metformin and the issues with glucagon and the liver.
And thanks for the DietDoctors website suggestion, I will be checking it out.

I am on 1000mg of slow release Metformin, I can't seem to tolerate more as it affects my stomach.

I eat every 2.5 hours, so it would be nice to be able to not eat so often. If that is even possible??
I see some people even do fasting, not sure I will ever be able to do that. I can go without food overnight thank goodness.
I also have problems with exercise and can only walk 20mins max on a good day. I would love to be able to do more or at least be able to do that every day.

I feel like sometimes I'm looking for the Holy Grail with my RH. I just want to feel better and be able to do more.
I feel like I am more realistic these days and I have stopped fighting it so hard. (in a good way, I am more accepting)

But thanks for all the help and suggestions

Lisa

 

[Lamont D]

Hi,

Thanks for all your suggestions and I will definitely give it a go. I guess due to all the anxiety I feel about my RH, change it is always a hard thing to do. I have been watching a lot of YouTube stuff about Keto diets but they always talk about diabetes and the effects, never about RH. That is why I thought to come here and see how everyone was getting on.

Next time I speak to my endocrinologist I will ask about metformin and the issues with glucagon and the liver.
And thanks for the DietDoctors website suggestion, I will be checking it out.

I am on 1000mg of slow release Metformin, I can't seem to tolerate more as it affects my stomach.

I eat every 2.5 hours, so it would be nice to be able to not eat so often. If that is even possible??
I see some people even do fasting, not sure I will ever be able to do that. I can go without food overnight thank goodness.
I also have problems with exercise and can only walk 20mins max on a good day. I would love to be able to do more or at least be able to do that every day.

I feel like sometimes I'm looking for the Holy Grail with my RH. I just want to feel better and be able to do more.
I feel like I am more realistic these days and I have stopped fighting it so hard. (in a good way, I am more accepting)

But thanks for all the help and suggestions

Lisa

The holy grail or the lightbulb moment happened on my seventy two hours fasting test in hospital.
This is one of the diagnostic tests, that is indicative of RH.
If you don't go hypo from fasting over this time, then you have the condition of RH.
If you do go hypo, then it is not the condition.And more tests should follow.
As one of my opening line, said RH is a food related condition. So fasting for more than one day should be possible. And as you say you fast overnight as you sleep. So not having an early morning meal should be ok.
I was advised to eat every three hours. It is in the text books, but you still have the symptoms and Once you stop, you go hypo. I don't eat after seven o'clock in the evening, so I go to bed knowing I won't hypo.
I use intermittent fasting.
I now understand why you feel rubbish.
That is how I felt, because I was just creating too much unused insulin because I was eating all the time, carbs and having high and low blood glucose levels. This is the cause of the symptoms and why you feel rubbish.

I have to add, a lot of doctors don't understand RH, the science of it, the way it develops, and why it is a reaction to certain foods.
I did the research, the experimenting, the discussions with my endocrinologist, to persuade him to look at the treatment other than with having not to eat carbs, ten meals a day and seeing the results from my food diary.
which showed how I was able to cope with little food, no carbs, and my blood glucose levels stayed in or around normal levels........... I did not go hypo.....And my health overall improved. My endocrinologist was shocked at my weight loss and my results.
I will add, and I have said it before on this forum. My endocrinologist told me, I was very ill before diagnosis. And if I didn't change my lifestyle, I would not be here, if I carried on.
I was diagnosed twelve years ago, I'm as healthy as is possible, and it is the diet that is the treatment, I'm not on any diabetic drugs. I have plenty of energy. No symptoms, no hypos.
Keep asking.
Best wishes.

 

[Melgar]

I’m mindful that @Lamont D, who is very knowledgeable on RH has already commented on here. The thing with RH is it affects post prandial blood sugars. After eating carbohydrates / sugars the pancreas reacts by over secreting insulin in the presence of carbohydrates and sugars, this big response by the pancreas inhibits the liver from releasing its glucose stores. So instead of releasing glucose to bring blood sugars into the normal range, it stores the glucose causing blood sugars to drop rapidly. I see the pancreas and liver at a tag team making sure our blood sugars reach homeostasis, but this process fails In RH.
Reducing your carbohydrates intake, and instead adding meats, fibre and fats the pancreas doesn’t over produce insulin. Digestion is slower therefore there will not be a big rise in carbs triggering the pancreas into producing too much insulin, resulting in the liver not releasing glucose resulting in a big drop in blood sugars.

Very low carb diets helps to prevent the pancreas from reacting with too much insulin so your blood sugars don’t have those big spikes and drops. Low carb eating helps to manage this yo yo effect so your blood sugars don’t rapidly drop. Fasting also helps, when we think of going low , it sounds contrary to what are brains think we should do, but inhibiting carb intake relieves the low blood sugar triggers.
Ed grammar

 

[Antje77]

I see some people even do fasting, not sure I will ever be able to do that. I can go without food overnight thank goodness.
I also have problems with exercise and can only walk 20mins max on a good day.

RH stands for reactive hypoglycemia, the 'reactive' meaning that it's a reaction to eating carbs. (Because it triggers an overshoot of insulin.)
If you're doing well without food overnight, have you experimented with walking before eating to see what happens?
You can always stuff something sweet or carby in your pocket in case it is needed, but I'd be interested if this would make you go low or not.

 

[Lisa246]

RH stands for reactive hypoglycemia, the 'reactive' meaning that it's a reaction to eating carbs. (Because it triggers an overshoot of insulin.)
If you're doing well without food overnight, have you experimented with walking before eating to see what happens?
You can always stuff something sweet or carby in your pocket in case it is needed, but I'd be interested if this would make you go low or not.

Yeah that's a good idea thanks and I will try walking before eating and see if it works. My bad is always loaded with food LOL so no problem there.